//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Onyx // Story: My Little Pony: Side Stories, Arc 1: Those That Walk With Gods // by Kiheiji //------------------------------// “W-w-was t-t-this n-n-necessary?!” I yelled this phrase over the waves, rain, and wind. “Of course, Onyx! You'll never get anywhere with that attitude!” Rainbow yelled back. The storm had us in its grasp now, and would only chew at our little raft till it was just spinners, I was sure. Rainbow had seen the storm coming on the shore and had insisted on getting to see it firsthand. As another lightning bolt lit up the see around us, making another loud explosion if light, I could see that our makeshift sail was in tatters. What did remain uselessly flapped in the wind. We would die out here, and I said as much, “W-w-we are g-g-going t-t-to d-d-die out h-h-here!” “Don't be such a 'fraidy cat!” Rainbow’s brite smile was ever present. It was a bad sign. When she smiled it meant she had dangerous ideas. The raft tried to buck us off again and my jaw slammed into the deck sending a spike of pain and making me yelp. “Onyx!” Her panicked yell was barely heard over the thunder that rolled over us. I felt her hoof cover me so I wouldn't slide off the raft. “Onyx! Are you okay?!” I looked into those worried brown eyes of hers and some dejection hit me. “T-t-this w-w-was the w-w-worst idea t-t-that you've h-h-had!” I yelled at her. I honestly yelled at her. I was angry. At her for dragging us out into the storm, at myself for not talking more sense into her, and at this damn storm for coming today of all days. She opened her mouth to respond but was cut short when we saw it. The massive thing was bearing down on us and was just cresting. The massive wave started to fall down, we both screamed, and the raft started to flip. I don't remember much after that. Just us screaming, the wave claiming us, and the voice. I need to back up. My name is Onyx Fervor, I live in the town of Dockside, and my sister is Rainbow Sunshine. She normally goes by Sunshine to avoid being confused for that famous Wonderbolt. I don't know where she even got that idea. They look nothing alike. Sunshine has a pink coat and yellow mane, with deep brown eyes. She normally wears her mane in a half circle forward with extended side bangs.She’s even an Earth Pony for Celestia's sake! How anypony could confuse her for the other one is just preposterous. Though her smile can be a sign of her more playful side. Which can lead us into a lot of trouble, but she wears it well. Oh, right. Her tail has this double twist to it. Hm? Me? Oh, right. I'm also an Earth Pony. I have a Ivory coat, blood colored eyes, and a midnight mane. That's probably why Rainbow gave me the name 'Onyx’. She even raised me since we both ran from our homes in Manehattan… well, she didn't so much as run from home, as it… burned down with her mom, dad, and baby brother in the house. She tries to hide her pain with that smile of hers, but I know she still hurts inside. I ran from my home because my parents were… too hard on me. That was about the time that Rainbow gave me this little black choker that I wear around my neck. I matches my mane and tail, looks good on me, and covers the… I don't like to talk about it. My mane is combed over to one side of my face, and my tail is nearly straight out from my flank. Rainbow and me found each other in the backstreets of Manehattan and soon after traveled south along the coast till we found this little town called Dockside. Dockside is this small warm place that holds some of the nicest creatures I've known. There is Gravil the Minotaur and Baker. There is this nice old Pegasus named Silly South.She has a funny name. She gives us some blankets in the winter. We're both orphans, but the kindness of the villagers never makes us feel lonely. They even gave us this little empty boathouse to live in for the past three years. They said that there was an old adventurer that used to live here, but one day he just didn't come home. So we could use it until he returned. The shack has a old rickety bed that squeaks when we move, an old wood stove that we use to cook with, and a roof that leaks when it rains which was more than we had before, but beyond that the shack only has a wet dock. The fly's are bad in the summer. The boards that make up the walls are rotting, but a home is a home. We started to call each other siblings after only one year, and even I'm smiling a little more now too. Oh, I forgot to mention I'm just thirteen years old and Rainbow is sixteen. Dockside, itself is this little town that you might never see. It's population can't be over ninety, but the Sea-sandwiches can't be beat and I’ve come to call it home. They mainly fish for the local carnivores. While the carnivores trade the food for wood to make the boats that Dockside makes. They are pretty good boats. There are about eight different races that live here. Most, I've been told, live here to escape somepony, or something, but nobody talks about pasts here. One day, out of the blue, Rainbow suggested we build a raft. This sounded like a silly thing to do, but she said we should see more of the world. I gave in and I tried to help I best I could, but Rainbow had to do most of the building, between working and feeding me that is. I'm not very good with my hooves because they tend to shake. She was always better with her hooves then me despite us both being earth ponys. The work went slow mostly because of my fumbling. Not that finding wood was hard, driftwood always seemed to wash up on the beach, and rope was relatively easy to make from the seaweed. Spinning the plant into thread always took so long. I could at least weave the rope for drying, and the sail we had to sew together from old clothes and blankets. Rainbow hooves already had some practice at boat making thanks to her job, we had to work to eat and Rainbow insisted she do all the work, despite my protests. She's been more of a mother to me than a sister in some ways. She even sings this lullaby to me when it's time to sleep. Then the day came when we were to sail. The raft had taken the better part of the year to cobble together, but it was time. Just as we were about to go out the storm made it presence known by rumbling in the distance. Rainbow got that smile on her face. The kind of smile that was dangerous. “Come on let's go out to the storm, it'll be like a test of our fighting spirit, or somesuch.” She waved her hoof at the dark clouds. I flipped my mane out from my eye. “R-rainbow, t-that's insane. T-that w-will k-kill us.” She just smiled wider, “Don't ya want to test our creation on the sea? In real life conditions?” She gestured to the raft sitting in the wet dock of our shack. “Y-yes, of c-course I w-would, but n-not in a s-s-storm!” My voice was carrying a little too much. She flipped part if her mane that fell down over her shoulder. “Tell ya what. I'll be the cap’n and you'll be the vice cap’n.” She pointed at my chest, “And neither of us will be in total control, we share duties and the like. Yeah?” Being a vice captain did sound appealing. “N-n-no! It's t-t-too d-d-dangerous t-t-to go t-t-to sail in a st-st-st-storm.” I was right, but my stuttering was giving me away. It always did get worse when I was nervous, or excited. “Naw, we've done a supertendis job making this ‘ere raft,” she taped the raft with her hoof as she spoke, “an’ you know what? I don't think you're scared.”W-w-what?!” My eyes shot open as wide enough to nearly pop out of my head. Not scared? What was she thinking? “Yeah,” a sly smile, which looks different than the normal one, creeped across her face, “I think you like danger.” W-what, “W-w-wh-wh-what?! I d-d-don’t like d-d-danger!” I reeled. This was ridiculous, I don't like danger at all.  Danger was, well, dangerous. There was no way I was going to put both of us in danger by agreeing to this crazy idea. Not even if it was pretty cool that we had made this craft all by ourselves, and I could be vice-captain. That was pretty cool too, and- no. I shake the thought from my mind. “W-we c-c-can’t go out t-there in t-that s-storm.” As if to agree with me the sound of distant thunder rumbled in from the water. She slowly trotted around me like a predator as she formed the rebuttal, and stopped behind me. “Onyx, I've known you for a while now, an’ I know you like danger…” She sniggled up beside me and hugs me in one the better hugs she has given. “And, I'll be right there beside you.” That did sound comforting. With Rainbow there I know that she would do all she could to protect me.”F-fine…” I relented while rolling my eyes. “I’ll g-go out in t-the r-raft, b-but” I flipped my mane out from my eye and pointed at her face eliciting a small yelp, “we are n-not g-going t-that far out.” She gave a small squeal of delight and did a little dance around me. Which involved one backflip, one side flip, and a one hoof stand. That did look amazing. I once did ask her where she had learned to do those things and she just said, 'Practice’ and gave a nod. Which always confused me, but I guess she had learned to do that on her own. Anyway, as we set out from the wet dock with the homemade ores in our mouths, the storm was approaching. The sea was very forgiving at first as our pattles  swept through the water. After about five minutes the deep rumbling coming from the storm seemed to signal our doom. The makeshift sail we had made was gently catching the outbound breese causing it to fill and push us out to the sea. The rope was holding the logs together, and the smile on Rainbow’s face was wider than ever. I have to admit my face was split by a stupid grin as well. This was fun so far. As the dark clouds advanced on us we shared a look of excitement, and one of worry. We both knew what we wanted, but we also knew that to take this little raft into a storm was the worst idea ever. At least I did. But… I guess we both got caught up in the rush of the moment, and paddled out further into the unknown of that sea; guided by the wind. Damn, she was right this was an exciting adventure. What would we find out in the storm? What was Rainbow looking for? The waves got even choppier, and the wind picked up as we went out further from shore. It was fine till our sail ripped and tore from the sudden wind that slammed into us  I gasped in horror, but Rainbow just laughed. Our sail was tatters, the water was so choppy, and I had to say something. “W-w-was t-t-this n-n-necessary?!” The wind and rain slammed into our equine bodies making the even the loudest of sounds barely audible. The rain hurt as it my side. “Of course, Onyx! You'll never get anywhere with that attitude!” She had said it with such an air of relaxed calm. I hated that about her, she could remain calm even out even here. She always had this inner strength that seemed to spread to others. Our raft was making noises of protest as the rope struggled to keep us together. The creaking and groaning from the wood made me worry. The lightning bolt that lit up the night sky made things easier to see and I saw it in the dark. Barely visible on the farthest edges of my vision was a lighthouse. It had no light shining from its lofty tower, but still it was a lighthouse. I felt a pull from that dark shape, and I was about to tell Rainbow about it when it appeared. The biggest wave yet. It towered over us and our makeshift raft. The wall of water was more like a monster then the ocean itself. It barreled down on us cresting just as it reached us. Like the hoof of the ocean stamping down on us the wave slammed into us and the raft. The loud crack of the raft finally giving way to the ocean rang out as my world turned into water, darkness, and pain as my head gave a great throb. The wave had hit me so hard that I was losing my ability to stay awake. It was so quiet and serene down here that, against my better judgement, I was falling asleep. The storm that raged above was a distant sound now. The endless blue stretched on for, seemingly, forever. Also there was this red ribbon in the water, ‘how pretty’ I had thought. The red ribbon came from behind my head.Past the red ribbon the Image of Rainbow swimming to me with this look of desperate worry on her face was the last thing I saw under there as my eyes closed, but I heard a voice calling to me. ~Come…~ There was no way I was hearing her down here. Than who? Soft hooves wrapped around my limp frame and pulled up. Yet the voice persisted, ~Say awake… and come.~ My world blinked out. And blinked back on. The storm was gone, and the sky's a deep blue welcomed me with only white clouds here and there. I was laying on my back on some rocks and my head hurt. Oh, the pain. The dull throbbing in my skull was almost too much to bear. The sound of somepony crying was just off to my side and it was the first thing outside myself to grab my attention. So I gathered my strength and slowly moved my head. The pain made itself clear. The pony was Rainbow. She was laying down beside me, head in hooves, openly sobbing. Her wails of grief rang of the ocean and bounced back. What was she crying for? “R-rain...b-bow…?” It was so hard to speak, and my mouth was so dry, but she looked up suddenly at me. Her eyes were red, puffy, and leaking, but that immediately changed when she saw my face. “ONYX!!” She yelled, the smile wrapping itself around her mouth, and immediately hugged me wrapping me up in her hooves. “Praise the princesses! You're awake! Are you okay?! Please tell me you're okay?! I didn't know what to do! You didn't wake up! You didn't wake up!” She said as she rocked me back and forth in her embrace, hugging me tightly as she did. Her wet eyes were pressed into my ribs as she spoke and sobbed. The tears falling down on my coat. She just held me and cried for a long time. ~That was close, you almost died.~ The voice called out, much stronger now, and I saw why. The dark shape I had seen out in the storm was now towering just above me. The lighthouse rose out of the island that we were now on, and this was a rocky plateau just a few feet above the beach, but that voice. Was that my imagination? ~No, I am not your imagination.~ What? Did that voice just respond to my thoughts? ~Yes.~ This was too weird. “Onyx?!” Rainbow's voice shook me from my stupor. “W-what?” “Are you still... you?!” She said it with a worried voice. “M-my… head.” It hurt. ~It's her fault.~ I ignored this. “I know… I am so glad that you're awake. You didn't wake up for four days.” She put me down on my unsteady hooves. ~Just think, you could be back home if it wasn't for her.~ What it this voice and who did it belong too?! Wait, what? “F-four d-d-days?” I gave a deep sigh. “W-what of t-the r-raft?” She looked to the beach with sad eyes, and following her gaze I found the raft. Or what was left of the raft. It was just two of the logs and a broken mast with bits of cloth hanging from it. We had put so much work into it. “If it wasn't for that raft, we wouldn't have made it here.” A sad smile dripped down Rainbow's face, “She sacrificed herself to save us.” ~She broke it, I watched her do it.~ What?! She didn't do it! ~How do you know? You were asleep.~ Rainbow wouldn't do that! ~Just ask her.~ No! ~What could happen, by just asking?~ Another sigh escaped my mouth, as I turned my head weakly to Rainbow. “D-did, you d-d-destroy it?” The surprised hurt expression on her face nearly broke my heart. "What are you talking about it was the wave. Don't tell me, you don't remember?!” Another worried expression crosses her face. “Is that head injury affecting you that much?” ~She continues to lie to you.~ Rainbow wouldn't lie to me! Stop saying these horrible things! ~I’m only saying what is right. Is it so wrong to want to help others.~ I don't even know who you are! “Onyx?” Rainbow’s words brought my attention back to her, and I realized that my face was all scrunched up with anger. “Are you… ok… truly?” I was surprised that I was even indulging this voice in my head. I shook my head, witch made my head trob, and said, “I'm s-sorry R-rainbow. M-my head hurts a lot, and I g-guess it's m-making me g-grumpy.” She smiled at that, “Good, I was worried.” With that settled she gave a small smile and waved her hoof around us, “Look where we ended up though.” With my head still kind of hurting I looked around. Around us was the small island, not much bigger than the yard outside our shack back in Dockside. On the tallest part of the island was a wethered and ramshackle lighthouse. It must have shone on my face because Rainbow said, “I know, it looks like time took a bat to this place.” ~It looks nice, doesn't it?~ Shut up! ~That isn't very nice. I was just making conversation.~ You're not real! ~Also rude. It's not nice to refute my existence.~ That is because you aren't real! What was the voice’s problem? ~I exist to me, and that is all I need to say that I exist.~ “S-s-s-shut up!” I close my eyes, trying to get the voice out from my head. ~I know that you hate me, but you really need to get a grip.~ “S-shut up!!” My hoof strikes the rock beside me. ~You need to calm down, or~ “Shut the hell up!” I swing my hoof out and hit a rock in front of me. The sound is followed by another crack wetter this time and further away. Wait, in front of me? I slowly open my eyes, and reel with what I see. Down on the beach Rainbow's eyes are wide with shock and she's turned to the side revealing the rock she hit her head on after she fell. Her ears and nose have this small trickle of red coming out of them. “R-r-r-rainbow..?” She doesn't move or blink. I can’t move or think at first, but then I quickly gallop down to the beach and move to her side. “R-r-r-rainbow?” Again her body doesn't even twitch, not even when I shake her with my hooves. “R-rainbow? T-t-this isn't f-f-funny...” Nothing. “R-r-rainbow? S-s-stop. I'm sorry I h-h-hit you. Please move… please say something. Please!” Again nothing but the wind. “R-rainbow, y-y-you're not dea-.” I stop mid sentence, the tears already falling down my face. No, she wasn't. She couldn't be. Rainbow was tougher than this! ~Woops.~ Shut up! ~Now you've done it. You killed her.~ “I d-d-di-didn’t.” ~Yes you d-d-di-did. Your hoof swung out and hit her, and when you did she fell off the rock and… well you see what happened.~ “No..” I back up from the body of Rainbow and a small tink comes from the sand where my hoof lands. The sound came from something half-buried in the sand. It was a dark purple and about hoof sized. ~She was yours, but your mine.~ The pain that shot though my back hoof was unbelievable and I remember screaming, a lot.